Rewriting History
by MissSilverfox666
Summary: Unable to fight his instincts to let his host die and be free of pain Kurama decides to try something a little different. Naruto wakes up to find himself in a rather peculiar situation and what's more he's in the past! What does he do now? This will contain yaoi (slash), if this freaks you out please find another story to read.


**Okay I am finally back to post something, hurray! **

**I had originally planned to update **_**Through the Eyes of a Serpent **_**but I was waylaid by this idea for a Naruto story and just had to write it and so here we are.**

**This is my first attempt at a Naruto story and a time travel story not to mention I am only familiar with the English version of the Naruto anime and have barely touched on Shippuden so while many things will be similar to the anime I will obviously be diverging from the original plot. **

**Hopefully it isn't too bad and doesn't end up too clichéd; please let me know what you think.**

**Silver**

**~Chapter One: Sent Back~**

Once, not long ago, he would have said he knew what pain was. From the cold stares, occasional beatings and the isolation of his childhood to the numerous times he had been mortally wounded and on the verge of death, he thought he knew pain both emotional and physical. Oh how very wrong he was.

He knew nothing of true pain, not until this moment with his entire body feeling as though it was on fire, ice running through his veins and the feeling of being ripped apart from the inside out, one cell at a time with excruciating slowness. This is pain beyond anything he has ever felt before, made all the worse because of Kurama's automatic healing.

Every time a tail was ripped from his body with a spray of blood Kurama would heal the damage, every time one of his organs failed it would heal. It was unbearable but he couldn't blame Kurama for it because it was as natural as breathing for the Nine Tailed Fox and Kurama was hard pressed to stop it so as to allow his host the chance to die without having to endure the pain of the extraction.

But no matter how hard Kurama tried his instincts rebelled and healed his host. With gritted teeth Kurama forewent trying to stop the healing and instead decided upon a new tactic, one that would leave him extremely exhausted, for he would need almost all of his Chakra to accomplish it, but he would also grant his host a second chance, a chance to change everything. However, his host would have to undergo some changes for it to work.

Naruto cried out in pain when Kurama's Chakra flared up, racing through his veins until it was in every pore of his body. He momentarily blacked out it was so painful but he was awake again within moments and screaming. Naruto didn't register Kurama's apology and words telling him to hold on a bit longer. He was in too much pain, feeling like he was being pulled in thousands of different directions at once.

The eighth tail had torn out of him several minutes ago, causing his insides to feel as if they were melting over and over again and perhaps they were. The only thought that ran through his mind before he could no longer think was this must be what hell feels like.

Twenty minutes crawl by with agonizing slowness, the ninth tail only moments away and the pain increasing as it begins to rip through him. At the same moment the tail rips free Kurama releases the gigantic amount of Chakra he had built up and begins to chant in a language long dead and as he does Naruto begins to change.

Madara Uchiha, gleefully watching the proceedings, pauses in confusion as Naruto's bright yellow blonde hair suddenly turns a deep reddish orange and begins to grow, moving along Naruto's limbs until the eighteen year old is entirely covered. A feeling of dread settles over Madara as the boy below him suddenly contorts, his body changing shape and the red hair sinking into the boy's skin, viscous claws extending from his hands and feet and his face elongating until instead of a human face he was staring into the face of a fox.

Naruto, lost in his pain, does not know of the changes to his body and can barely hear Kurama chanting in his mind but he does feel when the pain suddenly stops and a peculiar tugging sensation on his body. He also hears Madara's cry of rage as he is engulfed in blazing red Chakra. The last thing he hears being Kurama's vindictive laugh of triumph before everything goes black.

He felt…warm? That couldn't be right. Nevertheless Naruto's sleepy mind was certainly processing warmth rather than the pain he was supposed to be feeling. Did that mean he was dead? Did Madara finally extract Kurama? Naruto's thoughts were racing after each other in a confusing jumble but he was too tired to sort through them so he allowed his consciousness to fade once again.

Beep-beep-beep

Naruto groaned as the loud beeping ripped through his unconscious mind and dragged him out of blissful oblivion. Muttering a few choice curse words Naruto reached out and fumbled for a moment before finally managing to turn off his alarm clock and withdrawing back under the warm covers, curling himself into a ball and burying his face in his tail.

…Tail?

"GAH!" Naruto yelped in shock, eyes snapping open and mind suddenly wide awake as he turned multiple times on his four – FOUR! – legs trying to catch a glimpse of the fluffy red tail that just couldn't be there! Unfortunately though things didn't turn out well for him.

"Whoa! Ow." Getting your feet tangled and falling off your bed to meet the hard floor below is not a very good start to one's morning. Neither is waking up and finding yourself a fox! And that is exactly what he is.

"What the hell is going on here?" Naruto asked while frantically gaining his feet and staring down at his front legs covered in fur as red as Kurama's and ending in paws of the darkest black. Naruto was just on the verge of a full on panic attack as he looked at his surroundings and found himself staring at the small bedroom of his apartment in Konoha, which was destroyed several months ago.

Hyperventilating Naruto backed himself into the corner of the room, looking this way and that. He wasn't supposed to be here, he was supposed to be at Madara's hideout and long on his way to properly dying this time. What is going on?

"**Kit calm down."** Naruto literally jumped several centimetres from the ground as the deep, resonating voice of Kurama rang through his mind before he was suddenly dragged out of the material world and into his mind.

"Kurama?!" Naruto questioned, looking around the dank room in alarm when he found the cage that has been the fox's prison for eighteen years empty.

"**Over here Kit."**__Naruto whipped around to stare into the back left corner of the cage, the shadows moving as a fox, smaller than his current form, move forward into the light, stopping just on the other side of the bars to sit and gaze up at him calmly.

"Kurama! What the hell happened to you?" Naruto gaped at the small chibi fox with his cute little ears and nine tiny tails. If Naruto wasn't so shocked and questioning his sanity he'd be teasing the fox like there was no tomorrow.

"**Before I tell you that Kit, sit down."**__Kurama ordered, giving a stern glare when Naruto opened his mouth to argue. Shutting his mouth, Naruto complied but not for being cowed by the glare, it was entirely too cute to be frightened of, he just knew Kurama would leave him hanging if he didn't obey.

"**Good, now I assume you recall the situation we were in?"** Naruto just gave the fox a look that told him to get on with it; this caused Kurama to snarl at him in irritation before seemingly biting his tongue.

"**I should have just let you die." **Kurama muttered under his breath before fixing a smirking Naruto, or what could be considered a smirk on a fox, with a serious look that had Naruto paying attention. **"As you know you would have died the moment the ninth tail appeared and I would have been placed under that bastard's control again. I couldn't stop the healing to save you the pain of the extraction so I had to think of an alternative."**

"And what did you came up with?" Naruto questioned with a frown, his ears flicking forward.

"**I used an ancient time-reversal Jutsu."** Kurama answered after a long pause where he scrutinized the slightly bigger, single tailed fox before him.

"Time-reversal? What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked, a strange feeling beginning to bubble up in his chest.

"**Honestly Kit that is obvious,"** Kurama gave an exasperated sigh but continued before Naruto could angrily retort. **"I used that Jutsu to send us back in time; we are now in your twelve year old body with all our memories of what may come in the future."**

"Yo...you mean Konoha…everyone…their alive?" Naruto asked in a choked whisper, barely daring to hope that his precious people are alive, that they are okay.

"**Yes, Konoha still stands, the Akatsuki haven't begun to move against the Jinchūriki."** Kurama nods, affirming Naruto's hopes and watches as Naruto slumps boneless to the ground, his ears flat against head and his brilliant sky blue eyes closed, his features twisting into a feral grimace as the deaths of his friends flash behind his eyes.

"That…that means I can save them." Naruto's voice was filled with pain but that pain was overshadowed by a fierce determination. "I won't let any of them die, I'll save them."

"**I hate to sound cruel Kit but don't get your hopes up too high"** Kurama warned seriously, causing those blue eyes to stare at him with a heated glare. **"We are in the past and we can change things yes but your body is still that of a twelve year old. You may have all the knowledge of what you have learned but your body is not accustomed to the amount of Chakra needed to perform most of your Jutsu though thanks to you now having full access to my Chakra, rather our Chakra, your progress will be faster than your original timeline."**

"I…" Naruto let out a growl of frustration. He didn't want to believe it, he didn't want to have to face the fact that he may lose his precious people again but the years of war have long since knocked the naïvety out of him. "I understand, but I'll do everything in my power to save them."

Naruto's eyes were hard and determined, full of pain but also full of love. Kurama truly has never met anyone quite like Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, not even the brat's parents compared.

"Wait what did you mean by 'our Chakra'?" Kurama made a face and looked away for a moment before returning his gaze to meet Naruto's.

"**It means my Chakra is now yours and your Chakra is now mine." **Kurama was hoping the brat didn't freak out on him about this little detail. **"The Jutsu I used has never been used with a Jinchūriki before, a human body would never be able to withstand the amount of Chakra needed so I did the only thing that could work…I joined our souls together, that is why you are currently a fox. You are part demon now."**

A long silence followed Kurama's words and the Nine-Tails almost winced but he did close his eyes and curl up on the ground, he would not stop the boy if he decided to cause him harm, after all in his childhood he was shunned, hated, _loathed_ by his fellow villagers who thought him to be Kurama himself, the demon who nearly destroyed their home and now…now he was.

"You…joined our souls?" Kurama didn't look up at Naruto's carefully blank voice, instead burying his face deeper into his paws.

Naruto for his part, stared down at the most powerful being in existence currently pint sized in comparison to his true size – he really needed to get Kurama to tell him what was up with that – curl himself into a tighter ball so he was little more than a ball of red fluff.

_He thinks I'd be mad at him_, Naruto thought in surprise and shock. When he first encountered Kurama he was a moody bastard but with the war and everything leading up to it he had come to know the fox and understand the pain he had suffered and they became, in a sort of a fashion, friends.

Silently gaining his feet Naruto walked through the bars separating them and promptly curled up next to the chibified Nine-tails and buried his nose under Kurama's neck causing the other to start.

"Silly fox," Naruto said, pressing his head into the other's fur in a show of affection, because whether Kurama liked it or not he was also one of Naruto's precious people. "You gave me a second chance to save those I hold dear, like I'd be mad over something like that. I've lived with you for eighteen years, I'm sure I can live with you for the rest of my life."

"…**You're an idiot Kit."** Naruto swatted at Kurama's ear in retaliation for the insult but there was no aggression to it.

"So anyway Kurama, why are you so cute and Chibi?" Kurama growled and snapped at Naruto's neck, the Jinchūriki jumping back to avoid the sharp teeth, a grin revealing his own set of sharp white teeth.

"**Brat I am not cute!"** Naruto merely laughed and dodged a swipe at his head by jumping through the bars, leaving the Nine-tails to huff in frustration, their souls may be connected now but that troublesome seal kept him inside the cage.

"**For your information, brat, my current form is the result of almost using all of my Chakra on that Jutsu. I'll remain in this state for several months as our Chakra regenerates, then I'll return to normal."** Kurama glares at Naruto throughout his curt explanation.

"Right speaking of normal, why am I a fox?" Kurama rolled his eyes.

"**As slow as ever I see – **"Hey!" **– Your current form is the result of our souls merging; you are now part demon and therefore have a demon form. Currently you look like a normal fox but as you age and gain power you will grow and eventually you will gain nine tails like me."**

"Okay I'm not sure whether I should find that cool or not." Naruto mused to himself before shaking his head and moving on. "You said 'my current form' that means I can change back right? So how do I do that?" Kurama only just refrained from calling him an idiot once more and instead just answered the question.

"**It is simple, just mind over matter,"** Kurama began, a tail flicking in disinterest. **"Just wish to change into your human form."**

"Just wish to be human? Alright I can do that!" Naruto announced cheerfully not hearing Kurama's muttered **"I hope."** and concentrated on 'wishing to be human'. After a minute Naruto felt a peculiar sensation spread over his fur, like a bubble of water surrounded his form and quite suddenly he was changing.

"**Well what do you know, it worked."** Kurama said offhandedly before returning to licking his paw.

"Oi!" Naruto, now human again, glared at the small fox with indignation. "What would have happened if it didn't work?"

"**Then you would have been stuck like that until you could figure out a way to change."** Naruto's eyebrow twitched violently.

"I'm going to strangle you." Naruto hissed and advanced on the uncaring Kurama who was now grooming one of his many tails.

"**Oh, by the way Kit, if you don't hurry and get out of here you'll be late, their announcing your Genin Teams today in ten minutes."** Kurama idly told the blonde Jinchūriki while moving onto another tail.

"Eh?" Naruto paused and blinked a couple of times. "Genin Teams? SHIT!" Kurama's laughter followed Naruto as he disappeared and returned to his physical body.

Back in his room Naruto immediately changed back to his twelve year old self, muttering about 'bloody foxes' as he raced around his small apartment, jumping on one foot as he dragged on the horrifyingly orange pants he was so fond of when he was twelve.

Don't get him wrong orange was still one of his favourite colours but he had learnt it was a highly impractical colour to wear when one was a ninja and to be honest he preferred darker colours, he only started to wear orange so people would notice him. Because really, who _cannot_ notice a blonde brat running around in bright orange?

Naruto cursed as he tripped as he was putting on his left sandal while pulling on his orange jacket. Rubbing his head with a grumble Naruto zipped up his jacket and slipped his sandal on properly and launched to his feet heading for the door, snagging his headband on the way.

Naruto forewent breakfast, knowing they wouldn't be at the Academy that long before returning after lunch. Hastily tying his headband on, Naruto launched himself off the balcony after ascertaining he wasn't going to land on someone's head. As soon as his feet hit the ground he was off and running, swerving through the villagers, many who sent him glares or angry shouts, Naruto merely grinned.

It was as the Academy came into his sight that Naruto suddenly came to a stop, breathing in a deep breath and holding it as his heart rate sped up, the blood pounding in his ears. They were really alive, he could see faces lost long ago and a few of those lost more recently.

He stumbled forward and leant against a nearby tree and stared up through the leaves, releasing his breath as it finally hit him. He is in the past, everyone is alive and he can change things for the better. Naruto stood there frozen until a sudden blur shot past him, gaining his attention.

Naruto couldn't help but laugh at the retreating backs of Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka as they raced passed him in a desperate race. He remembered sitting in the classroom and watching as they burst into the room in a tie. God did he miss them, Sakura and Ino had become two of his closest female friends, the other being Hinata.

Gazing after them Naruto fondly remembered when he was twelve the first time and how he had pined after Sakura. He loves Sakura, but not romantically, it was a misplaced crush of his youth rather than anything of actual substance though it did take him an awfully long time to figure that out.

After gathering himself Naruto took a deep breath and smiled as he pushed off the tree and made his way into the Academy. Memories assaulted him as he walked the familiar halls with familiar faces, a soft sad smile curling his lips as he reached his destination.

He could hear the argument being waged inside and had to suppress a snicker. Sasuke, even after the stubborn bastard had returned to help Konoha, _hated_ all the fan girls he had, it drove him up the wall. His amusement however was quickly squashed as he remembered Sasuke's death; he had died protecting Sakura and just before he died he had, shockingly enough, confessed that he loved Sakura. His death left Sakura heartbroken, the moment she learned Sasuke returned her affections was the moment she lost him.

Despite her pain she had been one of the last to die, she had stood beside him and fought with everything she had…but it hadn't been enough.

Naruto had the overwhelming urge to punch the wall in front of him but managed to refrain and instead clenched his fists tightly and grit his teeth, pushing the images away. That wouldn't happen this time, it wouldn't.

Taking another deep breath Naruto steeled himself and walked into the classroom, a bright smile on his face. As he entered his eyes darted to every corner of the room, scrutinizing every shadow and noting all exits in a matter of seconds. A habit born from war and one that wasn't so easy to forget, not that he would want to forget it; he has seen too much death to be complacent like he once was.

It was funny, he was wearing his usual blaring orange and yet as he moved silently through the other students and to the seat he had occupied six years ago – well ah...oh stuff it! To him it was six years ago – only two people actually noticed him. Sasuke Uchiha of course and the ever lazy Shikamaru Nara. Naruto, for the hell of it, flashed Sasuke a bright smile as he sat down before completely ignoring the dark haired boy who narrowed his eyes at him in suspicion.

Ten minutes later and after the conclusion of who got to sit next to Sasuke, which was Sakura by the way, Iruka-sensei entered and quietened the room. Naruto's breath caught as he followed the man with his eyes, tears threatening to spill. Iruka Umino was more than just his Academy Sensei; he was his older brother, his friend and the first person to truly believe in him other than the Hokage.

Naruto viciously cut off the memories of the future that would never come to pass if he had his way and focused as Iruka began to read out the teams. They were of course the same as he remembered them, reactions and all although when it came to the announcement of his team he did not make a fuss, in fact he only sent a smile towards his teammates before returning his attention to Iruka.

Sakura and Sasuke stared at Naruto; something was weird about him, though Sakura quickly dismissed it and turned her attention to Sasuke who was now her teammate. Sasuke didn't dismiss Naruto's odd behaviour though, it was way out of the norm for the blonde, especially considering he would normally make a fuss if he ever had to work with Sasuke or even be in the same room as him. It was suspicious.

Naruto felt their gaze but continued to smile and face the front because if he looked at them again he was likely to breakdown, he couldn't even look at Iruka directly. If he didn't pull himself together soon and reign in the urge to just grab Iruka and hold on for several hours before doing the same with all his friends then he'd have a lot of questions to answer.

When they were dismissed a moment later Naruto headed for the door with a casual wave over his shoulder to his two teammates and a 'see you later', leaving those observant enough in the room to stare at him in confusion, it wasn't typical Naruto behaviour at all. He was never so sedate; he was always bounding around everywhere.

While they speculated Naruto quickly made his way back to his apartment and locked the door as he finally let himself breakdown, slumping against the door with his head in his hands. His shoulders shook as sobs were ripped from him and he sank to the floor, coming completely undone.

It was the most wonderful thing to see them again but it was also painful to remember how they died. He needed to properly mourn them and come to terms with the loss of his precious people, those he wouldn't see again, because those he saw today were not his precious people who fought beside him to the bitter end, they would be different but they would still be his precious people.

Half an hour later he was finally out of tears to shed and just sat for another ten minutes, Kurama giving off a comforting growl in his mind. Finally regaining himself Naruto stood and went to the bathroom, cleaning the tear stains before preparing a cup of ramen. He didn't feel much like eating but he needed it.

It was a rather subdued Naruto who returned to the classroom and though he hid it with a bright smile the emotion didn't reach his eyes, something a certain lazy Nara noticed. Naruto sat down with a cheerful greeting to Sakura who gave him a scornful retort but rather than being put down by it Naruto felt a nostalgic smile form on his face and fondness shone in his blue eyes.

Waiting never was high on Naruto's likes list as a child and it wasn't until he was sixteen that he began to grow up properly. Jariya's death hit him hard and forced him to grow up and learn how to be patient, how to plan ahead, to calculate as many possible scenarios as possible before picking the best option. Waiting had become so much a part of him he actually enjoyed the moments of peace before a battle.

Now he could remain in the same position for hours and never once fidget. That must be why Sakura and Sasuke were throwing him funny looks every few minutes as he stood leaning against the window, gazing up at the clouds. At this age he would be bounding around trying to find something to do or pacing incessantly.

A rather mischievous smile curled his lips upwards as he remembered when he had booby trapped the door while waiting for Kakashi, he knew now the Jōnin just hadn't been bothered dodging something as harmless as an eraser but it never ceased to amuse him, the memory of the eraser falling down and briefly flattening that gravity defying hair.

He had idly debated as the other teams left whether he should rig it up again but decided against it. That was from another lifetime, a priceless memory of one of those he held dear and with this second chance he would create new memories with someone else.

For no matter how much Kakashi hadn't really changed during the war there was a shadow that lived behind his eyes, a look even more profound and soul deep then what happened with Obito and Rin. He became haunted just like all of them but this Kakashi would never have that haunted look, none of them would, he would make sure of it.

An hour passed in silence, Sakura long since disheartened from making conversation with Sasuke who was being as immovable as ever. If he remembered correctly Kakashi was about two and a half hours late and it has already been at least an hour and a half, so another hour and he should finally arrive, give or take a few minutes.

Somewhat bored – because he still hated doing _absolutely nothing_ and thinking about the future he left behind would just make him breakdown again – Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated, reaching out his senses to see who was around.

He immediately felt Sakura and Sasuke, so familiar yet untrained. As he reached out further he felt Iruka and the other Academy instructors along with the younger students. It was wonderful to feel the pure _life,_ life that had been taken away so callously.

Shaking off his morbid thoughts Naruto stretched his senses further and had he not been quite so adapt at hiding his shock these days he surely would have fallen to the floor in scandalized indignation. There, unbelievably but very much there, on a nearby rooftop was Kakashi.

_That pain in the ass!_ Naruto thought incensed, the only outward sign of his mild agitation being the twitch of his left ring finger. It was all Naruto could do to keep his eyes carefully unfocused rather than glare as he searched out the silver haired Jōnin and found him on a roof adjacent to his current position, casually reclining on a low wall as he observed them through the window.

Irritation aside Naruto wasn't actually surprised; the man may never have mentioned he was observing them for who knew how long, it was just something he had no trouble picturing him doing. Naruto had the overwhelmingly childish urge to make a face at the man but bit his tongue and returned his gaze to the sky.

"Argh, how long is he going to make us wait?" Naruto blinked and turned to stare at Sakura in surprise. It seemed that if he didn't voice her inner thoughts for her – though he never really noticed how alike they thought until he had returned from training with Jariya – she would eventually voice them herself.

"I'm sure he won't be too much longer Sakura." Naruto smiled at the girl who threw him a glare but instead of her normal glare it lacked a certain amount of heat. Hmm apparently he was confusing her with his silence and unnatural stillness. He refrained from smirking but rather turned slightly so he was facing the door, another hour had just passed and he felt Kakashi moving closer.

"And how would you know?" Sakura retorted, folding her arms across her chest. She was unsettled, Naruto was acting really weird. By now he'd have started at least three fights with Sasuke, tried to get close to her and would be pacing a path in the floor but he wasn't doing any of those things. He even smiled as Sasuke!

"Oh I just have a feeling." Naruto casually replied, his smile growing just a bit wider when a hand landed on the door and began to open the door.

Sakura and Sasuke immediately turned towards the door in various amounts of shock over the fact that their, supposed to be, knuckle headed teammate had been right. That shock only grew when two glints of silver flashed past their line of vision and directly at the man who had just entered the room.

"Wha…what?" Sakura gasped, taking a step back as what she was seeing registered. Standing in the doorway was a tall silver haired man wearing a mask that covered his nose and the bottom half of his face, headband pulled over his left eye and perched between the fingers of his right hand was two very sharp shuriken.

"Naruto! What the hell were you thinking?!" Sakura exclaimed, rounding on her blonde teammate who merely shrugged at her.

"That's what he gets for being late." Sakura glared at him but turned back to their Sensei and apologised.

"I'm so sorry Sensei." She gave a bow and hoped Naruto hadn't gotten them into trouble in the first twenty seconds of meeting their Sensei. A thoughtful hum made her look up at the man who was idly observing the two shuriken in his grasp before turning a dark eye to look at them.

"Hmm how can I put this?" Sasuke frowned at the man, scrutinizing him from head to toe. He didn't look like much, was he really a Jōnin? "My first impression of this group…you're a bunch of idiots." Despite knowing what the man was going to say Naruto couldn't help making a face.

"I guess we'll just have to prove you wrong huh Sensei?" Naruto retorted, shifting his weight until he stood straight and stared directly into the man's visible eye, a crooked smile overtaking his face as he warred with the urge to just run over and flatten the man in a hug.

"We'll see. Meet me on the roof." He disappeared in a swirl of leaves just like last time. Naruto had always found that technique irritating, well at least until he learned how to do it himself that is.

"Mm, I've gotta get him to teach me how to do that." Naruto remarked to himself as he began towards the door but was accosted by an outraged Sakura.

"Just what were you thinking Naruto!? Throwing shuriken at him, you could have hurt him!" Naruto blinked at Sakura a couple of times before raising an eyebrow at her.

"No offense Sakura," He began carefully, she may not have her super strength yet but she could still pack a punch and he did not want to be reacquainted with her fists. "But he's a Jōnin, do you really think that an attack like that could ever cause him damage? Especially when he was looking directly at me when I threw them."

"I…" Sakura looked a bit sheepish as she realised he was right but she would never admit it, not yet at least. "Naruto what is up with you, you're acting weird?" Naruto gave a mental snort as she changed the subject to avoid voicing that she was wrong and he was right.

"My Sakura," Naruto began, a grin on his face as he looked her directly in the eyes. "Do you claim to know me? Know the one person in this class everyone likes to ignore? The person no one in this village actually gives a damn about other than Old Man Hokage and Iruka-sensei?" There was something to be said about the expression on her face as her emotions and thoughts warred, unsettled by the unnerving seriousness in his voice and the steel in his blue eyes as he stared at her without an ounce of his usual boisterous energy and happiness, his smile no longer on his face.

"I…No." Naruto was actually somewhat surprised, it had taken Tsunade's training to truly mature Sakura but perhaps the key was to simply make her think? "I don't know you but still, you are different from what I have come to know."

"I know." Naruto grinned widely at the girl, throwing her for another loop at the return of his sunny attitude. "No one has ever gotten close enough to me to know who I am, not ever Iruka-sensei. To answer your question though Sakura, I'm a ninja now, being a stubborn, pigheaded idiot won't keep me alive, neither will determination alone."

Naruto left behind his frowning teammates and headed to the roof. It wasn't long before they caught up to him though and both were eyeing him in different stages of subtly, with Sasuke being the most discreet.

As they reached the roof, Naruto cast his gaze around and found Kakashi perched in the same spot he had all those years ago and he had to fight off the oncoming memories of his Sensei's death. Kakashi had been the last to die, he had fought right beside Naruto and gave his life by taking a blow meant for Naruto. It hurt but he couldn't let himself remember that now, not yet, he would properly mourn the loss of his loved ones later in the privacy of his apartment.

It took all of his conscious effort to keep the smile on his face as he moved forward with Sakura and Sasuke to sit on the steps directly in front of Kakashi. It was silent a moment, the only sound the shuriken Kakashi was rolling through his fingers absently as he scrutinized them.

"Alright, why don't you introduce yourselves, one at a time?" Naruto wasn't sure what to feel upon hearing words remembered from long ago.

"Introduce ourselves? Well what do we say?" Sakura asked, just as she had last time.

"Things you like, things you hate. Dreams for the future. Hobbies. Things like that." Naruto debated what he wanted to say, as he was the first after Kakashi's oh so informative introduction – note the sarcasm.

"Why don't you go first, so we see how it's supposed to work?' Naruto had to blink at Sakura for a moment. She had nearly said exactly the same thing he had.

"Me?" Just like before Kakashi blinked once as he pointed to himself, he still wasn't sure whether the man was faking it or whether he was actually surprised by the question. "I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate. I don't feel like telling you that."

Yep, exactly the same as last time. Naruto had to fight a grin; the man before him truly would never change and that was a very comforting realisation. Kakashi was a man he respected above anyone else and had become his closest friend in the war. No matter how dire, how hopeless the situation, talking with Kakashi had always left him with a warm feeling in his chest, a feeling that he didn't recognise and had no time to contemplate during the war but perhaps this time he would have that luxury.

"My dreams for the future. I've never really thought about it. As for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies." _Yeah like being late and reading your porn in public,_ Naruto thought with a mental snort, though Naruto now knew the reason for the former was because he visited the Memorial Stone and lost track of time. "Alright, your turn. You on the right, you go first."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto had to stop himself from adding Namikaze on the end, he wasn't supposed to know that little detail yet. "I like Ramen, training and watching the sunrise, I hate those who blame others for things beyond their control." Naruto could almost _feel_ Kakashi's gaze sharpen on him, no doubt that last little sentence giving him pause.

"My hobby is studying Seals and learning new Jutsu and my dream for the future is to obtain a Mastery in Seals and to become strong enough to protect those important to me," Naruto's expression was serious and resolved and he could feel the shock radiating from his two teammates and he saw Kakashi raise his right eyebrow.

"And if I manage to become Hokage then that's just a bonus." Naruto added with a cheeky grin; sure he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to become Hokage but that wasn't his first priority, re-earning his Seals Mastery and training himself until he was stronger than before, strong enough to protect everyone, _that_ was his main priority.

"Alright next." Naruto wasn't sure what to make of the look in Kakashi's eye. There was surprise there and no little amount of interest; last time Kakashi hadn't paid much attention to him until he had finally grown up enough so Kakashi could actually teach him something.

It wasn't by choice the man had focused more on Sasuke, Naruto's attitude had prevented Kakashi from training him seriously. The techniques Kakashi used were all deadly and required a great amount of focus something Naruto had dearly lacked but perhaps this time around Kakashi would train him properly, after all Naruto was by no means going to act like he had been in the past, it could cost someone their life.

"Naruto!" Naruto actually startled slightly at Sakura's sudden near shout of his name. He hadn't been paying attention and had missed her introduction. No matter, it was all Sasuke anyway.

"Last one." Naruto could tell by the look in Kakashi's eye that he wasn't too thrilled with Sakura's introduction. Sakura had first started to take being a ninja seriously in the Forest of Death during the Chūnin exams, though he doesn't know exactly what happened first hand it was explained to him later.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream because I _will_ make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and destroy a certain someone." Naruto tried vainly but didn't succeed in curbing the urge to roll his eyes, luckily the only one who saw was Kakashi.

Sasuke as a child was so melodramatic and revenge obsessed. He was not looking forward to dealing with that again but he'd find a way to knock some sense into his skull before he went and murdered his innocent brother. Still Naruto had always wondered about that last sentence, if he intended to restore his clan then why the hell did he go after Itachi first instead of waiting until he was old enough to choose a girl to knock up so the continuation of the clan was inevitable.

…That thought sounded really insensitive just then but really, how else was he planning to restore his clan?

"Good. You're each unique and have your own ideas." Naruto decided his brain needed to shut up, he was getting distracted too often because he was thinking so much. Lack of attention would get him killed and now was not a time to fall back on old habits despite the current peace he had returned to.

"We'll have our first mission tomorrow."

"What kind of mission are we going to have?" Naruto decided to ask so he didn't fall back into his racing thoughts.

"It is a task that the four of us will do together." Naruto really wanted to tell the man to stop with the dramatics and just tell it to them straight but that would be rude and give away too much.

"Oh and what would that be?" Naruto cocked a brow as he tilted his head in a show of faked curiosity.

"A survival exercise." Kakashi's eye narrowed slightly as he took in their individual reactions. From what Naruto could gather from the snippets Kakashi had told him, Kakashi had constantly been observing them and gauging their reactions so as to better understand how they would react in other situations, such as battle or how best to train them should they pass his test.

"A survival exercise?" Naruto let Sakura ask that one, he was curiously watching Kakashi's visible eye as discreetly as he could; they had become very close so Naruto knew how to read what was visible of his face so he saw the sparkle of mischief briefly light in his dark eye. He also knew that Kakashi was aware of Naruto's close scrutiny.

"I thought we were supposed to have a real mission not more practice." Sakura objected with a frown. "We already did that at the Academy, that's how we got here."

"This will not be like your previous training." Kakashi always did like to be vague.

"Then what kind of training will it be then?" Naruto asked, just to get this part over with. He knew how things would go and he was nearing his limit, he would breakdown soon if this didn't finish up quickly. Seeing Team Seven together and whole was ripping at the old wound in his chest, slowly tearing it open again to join all the heartache of war.

Despite his pending breakdown he had to stop an amused smile from forming when Kakashi gave that little evil like chuckle he remembered; Kakashi had never laughed often and had ceased to laugh altogether during the war and damn it he was thinking about the past again!

"Hey hold on, that's a normal question what's so funny?" Sakura frowned at the silver haired Jōnin.

"Well if I tell you you're not going to like it." Naruto blinked to stop from rolling his eyes and easily blocked out Kakashi's little speech to scare them, though all of it was true the man used it as a scare tactic to help cause adversity between them even before the actual test took place.

Kakashi's sudden movement brought his attention back and he blinked at the back of the man's silver head.

"That's it you're dismissed." The man gave a casual wave over his shoulder before making a show of pausing and turning back to them. "Oh, tomorrow you better skip breakfast or else you'll puke." Naruto had to give the man props for saying that with such seriousness.

"Well then I guess that's that." Naruto said after Kakashi had disappeared in the usual swirl of leaves, standing up and stretching, a grin appearing on his face as he turned to leave, waving over his shoulder. "I'll see you in the morning Sakura, Sasuke."

Naruto could feel them stare at his back as he descended the stairs. He honestly hadn't thought it'd be such an attention grabber to not act like an idiot. Naruto shook his head as he quickly rounded a corner and just for the sake of seeing if he could still do it, built up his chakra and, much to his surprise, successfully used Shunshin to appear outside of his apartment.

"Well now, that's one thing I don't need to relearn at least." Naruto commented to himself as he stepped into his apartment, closing the door behind him.

Naruto went to his room, intent on grabbing dear Gama-chan and go buy himself some decent clothes that didn't consist of orange but ended up slumping to the ground and leaning his back against his bed instead and taking in deep shaking breaths.

"Seriously Naruto, you need to stop breaking out into tears like this." Naruto muttered to himself, his head in his hands.

Naruto remained entirely still for ten minutes, warring with his emotions as silent tears ran down his cheeks, he needed to let the emotions out and deal with them so he didn't breakdown in front of anyone but it was proving to be more difficult than he thought.

It was another twenty minutes and a pounding head later that Naruto finally moved from his position and sorted himself out before pocketing his trusty Gama-chan and left his apartment to get those clothes.

It wasn't until he got back that he finally sensed the lingering chakra in his apartment and that was only because Kurama had pointed it out. Naruto frowned and cast his gaze around the room, looking for anything out of place.

"Just what were you and Old Man Hokage doing in my apartment Kakashi?" Naruto questioned the air, entirely unaware of the dark eye that narrowed on his form. Naruto frowned in thought for the next five minutes before shrugging and placing his new clothes in his chest of draws.

It wasn't like they had any evil intentions towards him so Naruto dismissed it and settled on his bed with his legs crossed and eyes closed. He needed to have another chat with Kurama about his current situation and the powers he would gain being part demon now.

On a nearby rooftop one Kakashi Hatake frowned as he watched Naruto through the open window of his apartment. Naruto was…different than what he had been led to believe; Naruto was described as loud, cheerful, boisterous and unfortunately there was no way to be nice about it, somewhat stupid.

He apparently was also unable to remain still for very long but from what he observed earlier that wasn't correct or at the very least no longer correct. Naruto had remained entirely still as he waited with his teammates for Kakashi to arrive and what's more the boy didn't say a word either unless addressed or to contribute to something Sakura said.

Then there was when Naruto returned home; he had arrived at his apartment faster than he expected and while he didn't really have any idea what the boy would do with his time he hadn't expected him to basically collapse beside his bed and bury his head in his hands and stay like that for a good half an hour before leaving the apartment again, returning about an hour later.

Kakashi had been about to stop invading the boy's privacy to satisfy his own confusion over the boy's behaviour when Naruto had stopped in the middle of his bedroom and looked up with a startled expression on his face and a sentence on his lips that threw him for a loop before his eye narrowed again in suspicion.

How did he know he and the Hokage had been there? That was a very good question, one he would get an answer to. Kakashi eyed the boy for several more minutes to see what he would do with the information he had somehow gained but he merely shrugged and put away what must have been clothing before sitting on his bed and appearing to meditate.

"Naruto Uzumaki, there appears to be much more to you than anyone has ever realised." Kakashi murmured in thought as he watched the blonde haired boy who was supposed to have the attention span of a two year old.

Kakashi stood from his reclined position and disappeared from the rooftop, idly wondering what tomorrow would bring. Because it was obvious there was a lot more to Konoha's resident prankster than meets the eyes.

**So…thoughts?**


End file.
